Tony Almeida
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Image:Carlos bernard.jpg Tony Almeida is a fictional character played by Carlos Bernard on the television series, 24.
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Bio
Almeida obtained Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from San Diego State University and his Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford. He served in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant and attended the 3rd Marine Division's Scout-Sniper School as well as the 1st Marine Division's Surveillance and Target Acquisition Platoon School. He is a certified instructor of the Krav Maga martial art.
Just before joining CTU, he worked for the Transmeta Corporation as a Systems Validation Analyst.
In the first season, Almeida was third-in-command of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (behind Jack Bauer and Nina Myers). At the end of the first day, Jack left CTU due to personal difficulties after his wife was murdered, and Nina was sent to prison for various crimes. Tony became second-in-command behind George Mason. In the second season, Mason was exposed to lethal radiation. In a noble effort to remove an armed nuclear bomb from a populated area, he crashed a plane carrying the bomb into the Nevada desert, sacrificing his own life in the ensuing nuclear blast. This left the position of Special Agent in Charge open for Tony: a role which he maintained until the third season, when he was sent to prison for aiding a terrorist who was holding his wife Michelle Dessler hostage. The charge was treason, and his likely sentence determined to be at least 20 years imprisonment or at most execution. (The least possible without a partially suspended sentence or presidential commutation is five years in lock-up.)
Despite their conflicts and differences, Tony and Jack share a mutual respect and have worked together on several of their most important missions. Because both Jack and former President David Palmer defended Tony's actions which sent him to prison, Tony received a reduced sentence.
Important Events after Almeida's release from prison
His wife, Michelle Dessler, left him after he was released from prison due to his drinking habits and because he pushed her away. He moved in with a woman named Jen Slater, where he laid low until about one-fourth of the way into Day 4, when Jack required assistance at a security building. Tony saved Jack and Audrey Raines's life, and they laid low at his house for roughly half an hour. Jack planned on apprehending a suspect by himself, respecting Tony's wishes to not be dragged further into the day's events, but Tony volunteered to come along, stating that it would be stupid to save Jack only to have him killed less than an hour later.
As Tony and Jack went through the investigation, Jack saw his friend "come back to life." Eventually, Jack was able to convince Tony to return to CTU on a provisional basis, where he would work Tactical for Jack. Tensions rose when the Deputy Director of Division Bill Buchanan and Almeida's former wife, Michelle Dessler, took active command of CTU Los Angeles when incumbent Special Agent in Charge Erin Driscoll left for personal reasons.
Tony and Michelle clashed at first, but gradually, the two began to warm up to each other again, and near the end of the day, they had agreed to leave CTU together and start a new life. However, when Jack called Tony into the field, Tony was captured by an assassin. The assassin, a woman named Mandy, put Michelle in an ironic situation-move LAPD units out of the area and clear a path for Mandy to escape, or she would kill Tony. Michelle didn't comply, and thought she lost Tony. However, due to the swift actions of Jack Bauer and his tactical teams, Tony was rescued and returned to Michelle.
At the end of Day 4, when an overzealous member of the new Logan Administration decided that Jack Bauer needed to die, due to his part in an illegal raid on the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, Tony played an intricate part in faking Jack's death. After smuggling him out of CTU, Tony allowed himself to have an emotional good-bye to his best friend, a man whom he might never see again.
The Bauer-Almeida Connection
Tony Almeida and Jack Bauer had a rocky start to their friendship. During Day 1, Almeida was suspicious of his lover, Nina Myers, because she had been Bauer's lover at one point. During the day, Almeida often held up Bauer's investigation, frustrated that he was being kept out of the loop. When Myers was revealed to be a mole, however, Jack and Tony made a bond, both feeling betrayed by the same woman.
During Day 2, Almeida is trusted by Bauer to find his daughter, Kim. When Almeida takes command of CTU Los Angeles, after Special Agent in Charge George Mason died, Almeida and Bauer share a moment where Bauer congratulates Almeida on his promotion. However, after Bauer learns that the Cyprus Audio Recording being used to support a war with three Middle Eastern countries, Bauer and Almeida are pitted against each other, as Almeida was, once again, being kept in the dark. When Almeida learned the full story, he was behind Jack completely, going as far as to incapacitate Division Director Ryan Chappelle to support Jack's investigation.
Almeida, Bauer, and a CTU agent named Gael Ortega were the masterminds behind an elaborate collaboration between CTU and the US Army's Delta Force to recover a virus from drug lords Ramon and Hector Salazar. The operation failed, and the virus fell into the hands of former MI-6 agent Stephen Saunders. Saunders took Almeida's wife, Michelle, hostage, and Jack Bauer went against him, risking Michelle's life to stop Saunders from releasing the virus. Almeida, having given into Saunders' demands, was sent to prison for roughly seven months, despite Bauer's pleas to act differently. "You should be slapping a medal on him," Bauer told Division Director Brad Hammond, "not handcuffs."
During Day 4, Bauer called Almeida for help, and said he "Saw my friend come back to life" during that time. It was mentioned several times that Jack is the only friend Tony has left. When Bauer is abandonded by his government, Tony feels a pang of angst for his friend, wishing he could do more to help.
Trivia
- Random Jack Bauer FACTS
- Tony Almeida will be a playable character in 24: The Game
- Tony has a Chicago Cubs coffee mug on his desk. Carlos Bernard, who plays Tony, was born in Chicago.
| 24/CTU characters: |
| Jack Bauer - Teri - Kim - Nina - Chase - Tony - Michelle - Novick - George - Chapelle - President and Mrs. Palmer - Kate - Lynne - Erin |
